Pancreatic Cancer
Research Lab

Amelia Cephas is originally from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a B.S degree in Neuroscience and Behavior and a minor in Criminal Justice. After graduation, she worked in the lab of Dr. Vidu Garg at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus Ohio as a postbaccalaureate research fellow where she investigated the underlying mechanisms of congenital heart disease development due to maternal hyperglycemia employing in vivo and in vitro models. Later she went on to conduct research at The Ohio State University and gained experience in several fields. She studied the role that Endothelial Sodium Channel (ENaC) plays in autophagy and oxidative burst in macrophages as it pertains to their bacteria-killing abilities in Cystic Fibrosis patients, and investigated the effectiveness of GALGT2 gene therapy, using adeno-associated viral vectors (AAV), on the pathology of dystrophic (dyw /dyw) murine models. Additionally, she worked in local middle schools as a Life science teacher. In the Delgiorno lab, Amelia studies pancreatic tumorigenesis. In the lab Amelia studies the role of a zinc finger protein 800 (ZFP800) in regulating secretory epithelial cell allocation in the developing small intestines. Her work also focuses on characterizing populations of metaplastic cells and defining their roles in the biology of resected intraductal papillary mutinous neoplasms (IPMN). Together, these studies help highlight the fundamental cellular processes that shape epithelial biology in both health and disease. Amelia enjoys volunteering her time in the community, dancing, listening to podcasts, and participating in outdoor sports.